Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,734 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.2% of Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8 %

CRM stock opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $310.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $338.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.